Las Vegas Weekly

Locked and loaded: These tasty shooters hit the spot

The real deal: Fresh-fruit purees set Rogue’s shooters apart.

Photo: Christopher DeVargas

You can go with this, or you can go with that … or at only $5 each, why not go with both? Upscale lounge Rouge’s menu now features seven shooters in a variety of fruit flavors. Bigger than standard shots, smaller than cocktails, they can be slammed or sipped, paired with a drink or enjoyed solo. There’s a shooter for most any libation lover at the nightspot inside the MGM Grand.

The flavors: prickly pear, mango, banana, passion fruit, peach, strawberry and raspberry. All of them feature one of Absolut’s flavored vodkas, along with fresh-fruit purées. “The shooters have become amazingly popular,” says Ken Bearden, MGM’s master mixologist, who points out that men and women alike have jumped on board with the sweet treats.

Our top choice? Banana. One ounce of Chiquita purée shaken with one ounce of Absolut vanilla vodka and ice, strained and served. In a refreshing twist, it tastes nothing like those fake banana products on the market. “It has a fantastic flavor component,” Bearden says. “It was all about finding a quality ingredient and a truly nice purée. I’m very happy with how it came out.”

Close runners-up were the prickly pear and passion fruit shooters, which, along with the rest, are set to be added to the Zuri bar menu this month. Looks like we have two fun, new pre-partying options—or seven good reasons to revisit Rouge and Zuri and simply shoot the breeze.